3rd June

Still breezy for much of the day but altogether more pleasant in wall-to-wall sunshine. Migrants certainly weren't plentiful but a good deal of coverage eventually came up with 2 Spotted Flycatchers, a Turtle Dove and a Reed Warbler grounded at the Bill, a few hirundines still arriving in off the sea there, 2 more Spotted Flycatchers at Southwell and 37 Sanderling and a flava wagtail at Ferrybridge; additional presumably local wanderers included 2 Canada Geese over the Bill and a Little Egret over Blacknor. The sea still got a fair bit of attention, with singles of Storm Petrel, Great Skua and Arctic Skua through off the Bill the chief rewards.





Barn Owl, Little Owl and flava wagtail - Portland Bill and Ferrybridge, 3rd June 2015 © Martin King (the owls) and Pete Hackett (the wagtail)
 
...the wagtail is quite an oddball: although overall rather anaemic, we presume it's a male and most likely a first-summer (are we just making out paler, old outer greater coverts and flight feathers?), but whatever age it is it's got much more striking wing-bars than you'd expect. It may be just a very freaky Blue-headed Wagtail but if so it shouldn't have such a conspicuous white 'hollow' in the ear-coverts; the latter feature is frequent in the so-called 'Channel Wagtail' which, although many evidently have a paler throat that this, seems like the best bet in this case. Pete reports that the bird called in 'normal' Yellow Wagtail fashion.